Girls Gone Mild: Laidback Summer Bachelorette Party
When you work in the wedding industry and your cousin/life-long built-in best friend gets married, you do what you can to celebrate in a BIG way. And with Roberta’s wedding coming up THIS WEEKEND, I thought this would be the perfect time to show you how her laidback summer bachelorette party came together!
Bachelorette parties (along with basically every other event that requires people) are all VERY different in this Covid world. There’s not really a responsible way of going out on the town in the same way as we used to…so, girls gone mild, anyone?
When you work in the wedding industry and your cousin/life-long built-in best friend gets married, you do what you can to celebrate in a BIG way. And with Roberta’s wedding coming up THIS WEEKEND, I thought this would be the perfect time to show you how her laidback summer bachelorette party came together!
Bachelorette parties (along with basically every other event that requires people) are all VERY different in this Covid world. There’s not really a responsible way of going out on the town in the same way as we used to…so, girls gone mild, anyone?
My sister and I are 2 of 3 bridesmaids (the other lives in BC and wasn’t able to come just for the party), and we hosted the party on my sister’s back patio. Knowing that Roberta is a pretty laid-back person and doesn’t go for anything too wild anyways, the girls gone mild theme with a slight Mexican twist was perfect (her fiance is Mexican, after all, so we HAD to play to the stereotypes lol!). Our goal was really just to create a great ambiance, so that our guests could have a relaxing night, making jokes, playing games, and eating good food.
Basically the only reason why this set up looks as good as it does is because of Trend Decor. We’re so lucky that Maureen from Trend offers an awesome selection of lounge furniture, because the only other real option for lounge pieces in Winnipeg is very glam white leather, which was not our vibe. I had my van loaded with all of her pieces — obviously we chose a lot of the rattan accents, and I really wanted to find a way to hang the lanterns (luckily they’re SUPER lightweight so we just looped them around the patio lights), and we sprinkled in some black accents as well as using a few of my sister’s patio pieces.
I’ll tell you what: if you’re unsure what to do to make your bride-to-be feel special during this weird Covid time, get a photographer to come to your party for a few minutes. It’s so special to have photos of Roberta and her girlfriends! Mary-Margaret Magyar Photography came, and we are SO grateful for her!
Obviously I added flowers. I made a few arrangements here and there, using exclusively locally grown flowers, along with a selfie wall with garlands of bright orange marigolds, and fuchsia and purple carnations. It’s lucky for me that Roberta LOVES bright colours so I could really indulge in a palette that has no subtlety at all 😂 I also added a few mini garlands to her chair!
Guests came into the backyard and were greeted with hand sanitizer, a cocktail, and the selfie station.
Watermelon Margaritas
-Frozen watermelon
-1 can lime-aid-Tequila
-Triple Sec
-Add fresh watermelon when blending
-Garnish with a piece of watermelon (or don’t, if you forget about it like we did ha!)
I thought I’d share my original design board! I create one of these for each of my events. The only thing that I envisioned that didn’t happen was the bridal sombrero…it arrived the day AFTER the party 🙄
I’m so glad that we could celebrate my dear Roberta! Wedding events have felt really different this year, but let me tell you, this woman deserves to be celebrated. She’s incredibly generous, always the first to lend a hand (in fact, she stayed late after her own bachelorette party to wash the dishes), and is a kind and caring friend.
We could not have made this party quite as beautiful without a lot of help from the following Winnipeg wedding vendors:
Photos: Mary-Margaret Magyar Photography
LoungE, Glassware, Flatware Rentals: Trend Decor
Bride’s Makeup: Justine Barry Artistry
Bride’s Dress: Anthropologie
Welcome In! Stone House Creative Studio Tour
I would love to have the opportunity to have all of you come in to tour my studio in person, to see where your wedding flowers are designed and see it all come together. Floral workspaces are pretty magical (and also pretty filthy, FYI).
But the reality of a studio is that I’m not “open” in the traditional sense. I don’t have a retail storefront, I don’t have typical hours of operation (especially because my studio operates out of an oversized double garage, tucked away in my back yard!). I know that can be hard to understand.
But you should still come on in :)
Come on in 😊
I would love to have the opportunity to have all of you come in to tour my studio in person, to see where your wedding flowers are designed and see it all come together. Floral workspaces are pretty magical (and also pretty filthy, FYI).
But the reality of a studio is that I’m not “open” in the traditional sense. I don’t have a retail storefront, I don’t have typical hours of operation (especially because my studio operates out of an oversized double garage, tucked away in my back yard!). I know that can be hard to understand.
But you should still come on in :)
The workshop is basically the sole reason we bought this house 5 years ago. We weren’t really looking, but I had majorly outgrown my last studio space (aka the basement of our old house) and the second we walked into the backyard of this open house, we were sold. It basically takes up all of the backyard but it’s perfect for me! Like I said, it’s an oversized double garage and the previous owner had built it as a welding workshop. The shelving and workbench along the wall were already there, so basically all I had to do was build the cooler (I have a good sized walk-in cooler that fits a TON of flowers!) and unpack my boxes. The shelves play host to my range of wedding rentals - vases, candle holders, ribbons, candles, tools, and so on.
I finally got around to hanging up a drying rack from the rafters, which serves a few functions: the drying function (obviously), it keeps my dried stash visible which means that I actually remember to use the pieces that I hoard, AND it’s pretty. I love walking under it and looking up…it’s a little dreamy. It would be amazing to have the entire ceiling covered!
I also have a little studio helper 😊 For years I wanted a studio kitten, but never got one. I’m honestly not sure which would have been less distracting haha. Jack is 1 1/2 and he’s just the sweetest little thing. He LOVES playing with my flower tubes, throwing stuff into my garbage can that I don’t want him to, checking out my glue gun, and climbing my step ladder. AKA he’s an enormous workplace hazard! But he’s such a cutie, so I keep him around.
Over the 4 years I’ve been in this space, I’ve worked on little projects to make it a little less “basic man’s workshop” and more of Stone House Creative’s home. The main wall has been painted white to make it feel a little lighter and airier (though to be completely honest with you, I did 3/4 of that wall 3 years ago and finally finished the last part of it the week before these photos were taken). We switched out the hanging exposed bulbs to these cute but cheap Ikea pendants, and my husband built me an awesome work bench for the centre of the shop with a little extra storage. I usually have some sort of hanging floral installation over the work bench — currently it’s an orb of copper tinted plumosa fern that I’ll be taking pieces of as I work on weddings this summer!
I’ve also got a studio tour up on my Instagram Highlights that I’d love for you to take a look at! It shows you a bit inside of my cooler, my cardboard hoarding pile of shame, and more of my vase and rentals storage that doesn’t look quite as lovely and maybe doesn’t deserve its own photo.
And an enormous thanks to Vanessa Renae Photography for coming to take these photos! She does SUCH a good job — I’ve worked with her on photoshoots and on weddings, and the images are always so pretty, she did a fantastic job of getting my son to smile, and she’s so easy to chat with! Look her up if you’re looking for your wedding photographer!
Vanessa Renae photography
Colourful Fiesta-Inspired Wedding at Fort Gibraltar
When she first inquired with me, Natalia told me that she wanted to host a colourful, Mexican fiesta-inspired wedding. Obviously I was fully on board. When we sat down in person, she explained that she’s actually of El Salvadorian heritage, but her Pinterest searches for El Salvador weddings didn’t pull up many results 😂 We rolled with the Mexican theme though, and it was so cool to see how her El Salvadorian inspiration made its way through.
If you’re a lover of colour, this one is for you!
When she first inquired with me, Natalia told me that she wanted to host a colourful, Mexican fiesta-inspired wedding. Obviously I was fully on board. When we sat down in person, she explained that she’s actually of El Salvadorian heritage, but her Pinterest searches for El Salvador weddings didn’t pull up many results 😂 We rolled with the Mexican theme though, and it was so cool to see how her El Salvadorian inspiration made its way through.
If you’re a lover of colour, this one is for you!
Bridal bouquet ingredients: peonies, garden roses, stock, delphinium, freesia and billy balls.
This bright, vibrant palette filled my heart. I’m an unapologetic lover of colour in all of its forms (it doesn’t just have to be super bold like this — just as long as I have colour!), but the way this one came together was just so joyful. Natalia sent me an image of an El Salvadorian woman dancing in traditional dress, and it totally inspired the palette: magenta, bright purple, lots of greens, touches of yellow, red, orange, and blue.
I also loved that Natalia chose a cascading shape. This bouquet was a BIG sucker (my wrist was so sore making it, ha!), but look how perfectly it compliments her full skirt!
The ceremony was outside at Fort Gibraltar, in front of the old house. I added tear-drop shaped arrangements that coordinated with her bouquet to the railing post behind them, and we also lined the aisle with simple arrangements of orange garden roses and greenery hanging from shepherd’s hooks. All of these things were re-purposed inside at the reception, with the shepherd’s hooks jars tucked into the windowsills, and the larger ceremony pieces hung behind the head table.
Well, there are a few things that I REALLY loved about Gavin and Natalia’s reception. First, the table numbers. These were custom made for their wedding in El Salvador and carefully shipped here. They were incredible, colourful, and detailed.
The second item that I loved is probably obvious: the custom mini bottles of hot sauce! I don’t actually like hot sauce, but I told my husband about this and he thought it was the coolest thing ever.
The fresh floral centrepieces were, once again, full of colour and set in a copper vase. I also added in some cut fresh limes for a little fun.
The cake from Pinky’s was really cute. I loved the mix of simple buttercream textures, and adding the florals to it is always fun (and don’t miss the fresh limes added in!).
Looking for a Wedding Floral and Event Designer in Winnipeg?
2021 wedding dates are now booking! Flowers are the best way to make a statement at your wedding. Whether you already have a specific vision or want me to dream up something custom just for you, reach out to Stone House Creative for stunning bridal bouquets, truly unique ceremony backdrops, and beautiful floral centrepieces to create the perfect ambiance for your wedding!
How to Make the Most of Your Intimate Wedding
I have an opinion, and it may seem strange, coming from someone who makes her living off the gathering of large groups of people: I LOVE that we are having an increase in intimate weddings.
If my husband and I were getting married again, I would do it differently than when we tied the knot 10 years ago. We were quite young when we got married (barely 22 years old!) and hadn’t actually been guests at very many weddings, so we planned things that we thought we were “supposed” to plan them. I don’t have any regrets about our wedding at all — I just would do it differently now. And one thing that I would love is to have it smaller.
We had 150 guests, which isn’t that huge to begin with, but there were definitely a few tables of people that were on the guest list because, again, I thought I was supposed to have them there. It was such an honour that they did come, but if I were doing it again, I’d probably aim for 75-ish people. I would love to be bold enough to say 50 people, but with the size of my family (and they are important to me), we simply wouldn’t have been able to get away with 50 people. Realistically, I think we could could be looking towards a few months of 10-50 person wedding guest lists, so I’m excited to envision that with you!
I have an opinion, and it may seem strange, coming from someone who makes her living off the gathering of large groups of people: I LOVE that we are having an increase in intimate weddings.
If my husband and I were getting married again, I would do it differently than when we tied the knot 10 years ago. We were quite young when we got married (barely 22 years old!) and hadn’t actually been guests at very many weddings, so we planned things that we thought we were “supposed” to plan them. I don’t have any regrets about our wedding at all — I just would do it differently now. And one thing that I would love is to have it smaller.
We had 150 guests, which isn’t that huge to begin with, but there were definitely a few tables of people that were on the guest list because, again, I thought I was supposed to have them there. It was such an honour that they did come, but if I were doing it again, I’d probably aim for 75-ish people. I would love to be bold enough to say 50 people, but with the size of my family (and they are important to me), we simply wouldn’t have been able to get away with 50 people. Realistically, I think we could could be looking towards a few months of 10-50 person wedding guest lists, so I’m excited to envision that with you!
So, let’s make the most of your intimate wedding!
Above all, what I want you to come away with is this knowledge: even if you didn’t originally envision or plan an intimate wedding, that doesn’t mean that it’s not a wedding worth celebrating, and celebrating HUGE. Get excited!
For any of your couples considering a smaller wedding this year, I HIGHLY recommend it. I was very much against the thought of a smaller wedding initially but it was honestly everything I could have wanted and more. I am so glad we went ahead with it and truthfully, the ceremony itself meant so much more to both Daniel and I because of who we did have there!
-Lainie and Daniel (married in an intimate backyard wedding on June 28, 2020)
What it’s all going to come down to is carefully designing a plan to treat your guests to an experience unlike any other, and that means starting with what YOU love!
Photo by Lynsey Corbett Photography ~ Planning by Soiree Event Planning ~ See more here!
My Must-Haves for an Intimate Wedding:
-Petals (or confetti or bird seed) for each of your guests to toss as you celebrate down the aisle.
-Live music, at least for the ceremony.
-Over the top florals, obviously. At least for your ceremony!
-A catered dinner from your favourite restaurant with ALL the menu options.
Let’s be honest: you may never have the reason to do something elaborate like this ever again. With fewer guests, you’ll have an increased amount of budget to spend per guest, which means you can treat your favourite people to the ultimate wedding, the wedding you dreamed of in the beginning before the realities of money ever got in the way.
Imagine how it would feel to be a guest at this wedding:
Planning, Design, Florals by Rhiannon Bosse (she’s got some amazing ideas on your blog for you!)
You’re welcomed in with personalized charcuterie boards and pre-poured cocktails, while a musician plays acoustic guitar in the background.
The table is set to the highest degree: the scent of flowers sweetly floating on the breeze, elegant glassware in your hand, personalized menus and place cards with a note from the couple written just to you to make sure you know that you are an important guest.
An incredible dinner awaits, and it’s far from the basic bottle of wine and salad/entree/dessert. Your palette is spoiled with upgrades: a full bar, multi-course dinner with wine pairings, table-side creme brûlée. Maybe the typical dinner fare is skipped in favour of the couple’s favourite elevated street food instead — individual servings of hand-smashed guacamole and grilled corn, or a beloved food truck has set up shop in the backyard for the night!
The evening finishes on a sweet note with a personalized dessert board — petite molten cakes in individual ramekins, the bride’s favourite cookie, a scoop of the groom’s favourite ice cream, a hot chocolate shooter.
I think it’s safe to say that your guests will agree that there’s absolutely nothing missing from the experience, and if they’re being honest, it’s probably the best wedding they’ve ever attended.
Don’t let anyone leave without a gift — and I’m not talking about your regular old wedding favour. Perhaps it’s as simple as an elegantly wrapped box of your favourite Constance Popp chocolates, or a premium welcome bag featuring your prized must-haves from local Manitoba makers: a sweet bottle of Bee Project honey, a can of your favourite Little Brown Jug ale, or locally made bitters or shrubs from Abiding Citizen.
Left: Sinclair & Moore, Middle: A Signature Welcome photographed by Corbin Gurkin, Right: A Signature Welcome photographed by Rebecca Yale
A few final thoughts…
Instead of spending $75 per table centrepiece for 20 tables, you could spend that total $1500 on floral arrangements for 4 or 5 tables. I can’t even begin to tell you have stunning that will be! There’s NOTHING that does a better job of bringing life and excitement to an event than fresh flowers (in my completely unbiased opinion 😉).
I very literally salivated while imagining all of these food options and dreaming about which restaurants I would order from…529 Wellington, Merchant Kitchen, The Red Ember food truck, and I have always wanted to host a party catered by Nuburger!
I talked to my friend Kaytee of Roots Floral Design, who is a wedding florist in Cincinnati, and she made an extra good point: “Take advantage of the outdoors! Each region will have different guidelines and regulations, but most places are much more lenient with outdoor intimate weddings (and I think many of your guests would be more comfortable attending an outdoor wedding!). Take advantage of a smaller venue with beautiful outdoor scenery to hold your wedding. Other options are a relative's backyard, parks (if they allow it), or even an Airbnb! One of our couples choose a beautiful Airbnb property to hold her intimate wedding celebration. Their wedding became a weekend long celebration with their closest loved ones. When painted in this light, intimate weddings sound so dreamy, right?”
A few vendors and I were chatting at an intimate backyard wedding we were working on together this past weekend, and all said how much we have been loving these smaller weddings. Why? I realized that everyone is HAPPIER. There's so little stress with these smaller weddings; fewer things to be concerned about. Even if you are DIYing some elements, or cooking some of the food, you're only doing it for 30 people and so the time investment is so much lower.
If you need some help pulling together the loose ends for your intimate wedding, don’t hesitate to ask your vendors. I have loved the opportunity of being more involved with some of my couples, and I know I’m not the only one. Kaytee said it perfectly: “No matter what you decide for your wedding, we know that it will be perfect and just right for you. Your wedding day should be exactly how you envision it to be, even if that vision slightly changes. Hiring the right vendors will help you bring that vision to life.“
LOOKING FOR A WEDDING FLORAL DESIGNER IN the WINNIPEG area?
2021 wedding dates are now booking, with limited 2020 dates still available! Whether it’s an intimate wedding for 30 or a celebration the likes of which have never been seen before, reach out to Stone House Creative for stunning bridal bouquets, truly unique ceremony backdrops, and beautiful floral centrepieces to create the perfect ambiance for your wedding!
Intimate Wedding with Over the Top Florals
Karleigh and Matt’s intimate wedding with over the top florals was my first post-Covid wedding. Their Mother’s Day weekend wedding was originally going to be the largest wedding of my season (and career), and we had some truly remarkable things planned for them. But with a very large guest list, including a lot of family who wanted to travel in from Italy for the wedding, they knew they needed to postpone the big celebration to 2021. The couple still wanted to be wed in May 2020, so we went ahead — in a big way, with some serious flowers, on the front steps of his family’s home.
Karleigh and Matt’s intimate wedding with over the top florals was my first post-Covid wedding. Their Mother’s Day weekend wedding was originally going to be the largest wedding of my season (and career), and we had some truly remarkable things planned for them.
But with a very large guest list, including a lot of family who wanted to travel in from Italy for the wedding, they knew they needed to postpone the big celebration to 2021. The couple still wanted to be wed in May 2020, so we went ahead — in a big way, with some serious flowers, on the front steps of his family’s home.
While Karleigh’s big wedding celebration will feature an elegant palette of blush pinks, gold, and white, she wanted to keep the intimate wedding simpler with a monochromatic white and green palette. Karleigh asked for a really simple bouquet but had no specific requests — so obviously, I created a bouquet entirely out of white ranunculus 😍
If you can believe it, this entire ceremony design was planned 4 days before the wedding! We were originally going to do the ceremony inside, in front of the fireplace, but then the family had this GORGEOUS wrought-iron gate put on their arched front door. Andrea from Soiree Event Planning texted me a photo of the door and I immediately became SO excited.
I knew exactly what I wanted to do: we needed to grow the florals up around the doorframe to emphasize the curve. Karleigh had this vintage Persian rug, and we added some light floral accents growing up the stems. The goal was to create a lush, living backdrop for Karleigh and Matt to exchange their vows in a way that didn’t at all feel like a backup plan.
And then comes the dining room!
This was also planned just days before the wedding. The house was undergoing renovations, so the family wasn’t quite sure what would be finished in time, whether the new table would arrive, and so on. Everything was just about wrapped up that week, so we really went for it to give them a tablescape from a dream world.
Rather than doing the typical greenery garland, I again wanted to create a breathtaking floral experience for the family that would gather for dinner.
Several varieties of white roses, snapdragons, delphinium, larkspur, and ranunculus were used along with several types of greenery.
I echoed the long, lush arrangement on the table with a shorter but still lush arrangement on the antique wood buffet behind it.
If this doesn’t prove to you that your 2020 intimate wedding doesn’t have to be a “backup plan",” then I don’t know what possibly could. Whether you can have just 10 people or 50, we can create a joyful, celebratory atmosphere and a really special experience for all of you.
Ariana Tennyson Photography ~ Stone House Creative ~ Soiree Event Planning ~ Prairie Film Co ~ Keith MacPherson ~ Hair by Ang ~ 529 Wellington
LOOKING FOR A WEDDING FLORAL DESIGNER IN the WINNIPEG area?
2020 and 2021 wedding dates are now booking! Whether it’s an intimate wedding for 30 or a celebration the likes of which have never been seen before, reach out to Stone House Creative for stunning bridal bouquets, truly unique ceremony backdrops, and beautiful floral centrepieces to create the perfect ambiance for your wedding!